Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 5, 2025

Author Spotlight: Understanding Adolescent Social Adversity Effects on Neurodevelopment in Mice
Published on: March 15, 2024
Gender diversity and daily steps: Findings from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study
Jason M Nagata1, Shirley Sui1, Angela E Kim1
1Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, 550 16th Street, 4th Floor, Box 0503, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
Purpose:
To examine the association between multiple dimensions of gender diversity and physical activity (daily steps) in a diverse national sample of early adolescents in the United States.
Methods:
This study analyzed Year 2 data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (N = 6038, Mage=12.0 years). Linear regression models were used to estimate the associations of gender diversity across multiple measures (transgender identity, felt gender, gender expression, gender non-contentedness) with daily step count measured by wrist-worn Fitbit devices.
Results:
In this sample of early adolescents, 49.7 % were assigned female at birth, 39.4 % were from racial/ethnic minority groups, and 1 % to 16.9 % identified as gender diverse, depending on the measure used. Transgender identity was associated with 1394 (95 % confidence interval 284-2504) fewer steps per day compared to cisgender identity after adjusting for all covariates. Greater gender diversity, as measured by felt gender and gender non-contentedness, was also associated with lower daily steps.
Conclusions:
Transgender and gender-diverse adolescents engage in less physical activity than their cisgender peers. This research has important implications for public health and policies focused on supporting physical activity among transgender and gender-diverse early adolescents.
Related Concept Videos
Cognitive Development During Adolescence
Socioemotional Experience and Gender Development
Ethnic Identity within a Larger Culture
Three Developmental Domains
Physical Development
Physical processes, also known as maturation, encompass the biological changes that occur across an individual's life. These changes begin with genetic inheritance and continue through various stages, including growth in height and...
Biological Influences on Intelligence
Relationship Formation

